Rack and pinion operating means



3, E. A. SCHOTTENBERG- I 5 5 BACK AND .PIN'ION OPERATING MEANS Filed001. '11, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet I lllll lill mw grwwvtom.EbnonLfz-Jcholienber y,

1 1940- E. A. SCHOTTENBERG RACK AND PINION OPERATING MEANS V 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1938 PatentedFeb,'13,1 940' h i i 1, 2 157 uni-rho s STATES PATENT j OF CE Eimon A. Schottcnberg, Youngstown,Ohio, assignor to Truscon Steel Company, Youngstown,

Ohio, a corporation of Michigan Application October 11, 1938, Serial No.234,486

r 7 Claims. (out-as) This invention relates to operatingmeans for theinvention vhas particular application to in movable elements of variousdifferent kinds, and stallations in places where chemicals frequentlyhas particular reference toimprovements in 'opexplode in the sense thatthey create excessive crating means of the type'comprising a rack on gaspressures, which while not sufficient to wreck 5 the element to be movedand a pinion cooperatthe entire building; often blow out many panes 5ing with said rack for moving thesa'me and thereof glass if the windowis stationary; I by moving the movable element. l A'speoial object ofthe invention is to provide a While the operating means comprising theinr si ple, pr c c means f r holding he ack yie1d-. vention is capableof a wide range of uses, it has ably in mesh with the pinion and toernbody in special, utility as .a means for opening and'closing ai meansProvision for regulating t y e d- 10 windows, doors, transoms,ventilators and the y. ofll y ooadaptthe ope ating like, either singlyor in banks or series. In any ns b t serve s p rpo e in variousdifiercase, the general object or the invention is to t in al a ions ofthe same. j provide an operating means of the'type men- Another specialobject of the invention isto tioned in which the rack is held yieldablyin mesh pr de, for pt us h t e y eldable rack with the pinion, whereby,in the eventof ob holding me simple: means or loc ng the struction tomovement of the movable element k against disengagement f the p o nwhile; power is being applied to the pinion, or' in any desired positionof the rack relative to the the event of force being applied to themovable pinion, thus to lockthe movable element ains element to movesame while the pinion is stationmovement r any desired Position thereof9 ary, disengagementof the rack from the pinion s Pinion remains y-Qwill occur and damage or harm to the operating Another special object ofthe invention is to means, or 130 the movable glement, or to what-PIOVidG alocking means 38 stated Which bBCOmS ever might obstructmovement of the movable p ti automatically p s ve to movement e1 t,th rb 111 b v ided, h t is t say, of the movable element to a selectedposition the present invention is particularly concerned y ECW317101! 0fh p with providing a safety operator for swinging t he'f r s s and'othelbj in Vi w, sash and the like which will prevent loss of life'or WhiChWill become more fully ppa ent as the injury in certain installations,and, also permit nature of the invention is better understood, the thewindow to be forced open from within by same consists in the novelfeatures of oonstruce pressure resulting from an explosion. For extion,combination and arrangement o part as ample, many windows or transoms,particularly Will h hereinafter more fully sc d 111115- in factories orwarehouses, may be operated in trailed the accompanying d w ngs anddeseries or in multiple by a common operating shaft fi in the appended Ca si driven from a motor controlledat a central staaccompanying d i gwherein like tion. Frequently the windows may Open t on characters ofreference denote corresponding to a roof, and if a man *is cleaning theinside Parts in the different Views! of the windows while he is standingon the roof, Figure 1 it atransverse section h o h anorit is possiblethat someone at the control station 151011 of a WiHdQW Ventilator q ppedwith so may set the closure operating means in motion, operating meansconstructed in accordance with 40 not knowing the position of the man atwork, one practical embodiment of the invention; the and trap him orpush him into the s ace below. parts o the operating eans being shown intheir If that contingency occurs with the present innormal, Operativepositionsvention, the man can resistthe closing of the Figure 2 i a ewSimilar o Fig. 1 illustrating window'causing the rack to slip relativeto the anabnolmal position O he p rts of the operat- 45" Pinionregardless of the force applied to the rack ing'meahsby theclosureoperating mechanism and thus Figure 3 is a plan view of aportion' oi thenot be injured. 1 t operating means. i

On the other hand, if all of the windows are Figure 4 is a cross sectionon the line i -4 of r j closed and a pressure exists within theplaceFig. 1. I r 50 where the windows are installed, the foroeof the Figure 5is a cross section on theline 5--5of w explosion-can push the windowsopen without Fig. 1. i r

damage or injury to the glass in the sash, and, Figure 6 is acrosssection on the line 6-'-6 of also, tend to prevent excessive injury tothe plant Fig. 1. i e or shop as well as its occupants. aIn this aspectFigure '7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating 55 means; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the locking element.

While the present operating means may, as aforesaid, be employed foroperating various different movable elements, it has special utilitywhen employed for operating windows, ventilators and the like.Accordingly, there is'illustrated in the present instance a movableelement in the form of a window or ventilator, designated as It, whichis assumed to be hinged for inward and outward movement between closedand open positions. It is to be understood, however, the'windowillustrated merely is representative'of various other movable elementswhich may be mounted for, movement in various different ways and whichmay be operated by operating means embodying the features of theinvention.

Primarily, the present operating means comprisesa rack bar it and acooperating pinion l2. The rack bar H is pivoted at one end, as at I3,to the window or other movable element N to be operated and the pinionI2 is fixed on a shaft I4 which is rotatable but which otherwise isstationary. Normally the teeth of the rack bar and the pinion are inmesh with each other. Consequently, rotation of the shaft and pinion inone direction is effective to shift the rack bar longitudinally in onedirection to move the movable element in one direction, and rotation ofthe shaft and pinion in the opposite direction is efiective to shift therack bar longitudinally in the opposite direction to move the movableelement in the opposite direction, all inaccordance With common and wellknownmechanics.

Now, in' accordance with the invention, the

rack bar H is'urged toward and is maintained normally in mesh with thepinion l2 by yieldable means. In this connection it is, of course,inherent to a rack and pinionoperating means, due to. the wedgingcooperation of the teeth of the rack and pinion, that rotation of thepinion, or longitudinal movement of the rack, tends to move the rackaway from the pinion. Consequently, if, during rotation of the pinion ineither direction to move the movable element in either direction,movement of the movable element should, for any reason he obstructed,the rack bar is free to move away from or to be disengaged from thepinion and the latter is free to continue rotating without damaging orharming the operating means, the movable element or whatever may beobstructing movement of the. latter.

' Moreover, should the pinion be held against rotationand should therebe applied to the movable element a force sufficiently strong to movesame, the same result will occur; viz., the rack bar first will be movedaway from and then harmlessly across the pinion and damage to themovable element or to the operating means will not occur. In variousmanufacturing plants explosions are not uncommon, and air pressure-dueto an explosion is an example of a force which might act {upon a movableelement in the form of a window, ventilator or the like to move the samewhile the pinion is stationary.

The particular means illustrated in the present instance for yieldablyurging the rack bar ll toward and maintaining it normally in mesh withthe pinion l2, comprisesa U-shaped yoke I5 embracing the hub of thepinion IE or, alternatively, the shaft l6, and rockable with respectthereto;

' a roller 16 mounted on a pin l'i carried by one of the arms I 8 ofsaidyoke andengaging theedge of the rack bar H remote from the pinion 2;a rocker arm l9 pivotally connected at one end with the arm l8,preferably through the instrumentality of the pin [1, and overlying theedge of the rack bar H remote from the pinion l2 and having its otherend extending beyond the other arm 2!] of the yoke I5; a roller 2!carried by the last mentioned end of said rocker arm and also engagingthe edge of the rack bar remote from the pinion; and a spring 22reacting from the arm 20 of the yoke upon the second mentioned end ofthe rocker arm l9, thereby urging the latter constantly toward the rackbar and tending to rock the yoke to maintain the roller H5 engaged withthe rack bar and, consequently, urging the rack bar constantly toward orinto mesh 'with' the pinion l2. In other words, whether the ment of themovable element Ill and if, at the same time, the pinion l2 isrotated,the wedging coaction of the teeth of the pinion with the teeth of therack bar will result in the rack bar being moved away from the pinion.In other words, outward pressure exerted upon the rack bar will resultin a combined rocking movement of the yoke l5 about the hub of thepinion it or about the shaft M, as the case may be, and outward swingingmovement of the rocker arm l9 about its pivot all against the force ofthe spring 22, until the teeth of the rack bar are completely disengagedfrom the teeth of the pinion. Accordingly, if the pinion continues torotate it will be inefiective to move the rack bar. If, then, rotationofthe pinion l2 ceases, the spring 22 obviously will act to restore theparts to their normal positions in which the teeth of the rack bar arein mesh with the teeth of the pinion. On the other hand, if the pinionis held against rotation as, for example, by a motor or other meansemployed for rotating the shaft M, and if, at the same time, a force isexerted upon the movable element In to move the same, the same ultimateresult as just described will occur, the only difference being thatseparation of the rack bar from the pinion will take place due tolongitudinal movement of the rack bar.

Preferably means is provided to regulate the compression or forcenormally exerted by the spring 22 so as to predetermine the amount ofresistance that must be offered to longitudinal movement of the rack barII when the pinion I2 is rotated, and to predetermine the force whichmust be exerted longitudinally upon the rack bar when the pinion is heldagainst rotation,'to effect disengagement of the rack bar from thepinion. In the present instance this means comprises a screw 23 threadedinto the arm 2!! of the yoke I 5 and constituting an adjustable stop orabutment for the outer end of the spring 22. Obviously, by adjustment ofsaid screw the force of the spring maybe varied to best adapt the operating means to function under various different conditions ofinstallation of the same.

Preferably means also is provided to positively limit outward ordisengagement movement of the rack bar H relative to the pinion l2. Inthe. present instance this means comprises a strut element 24 interposedbetween the rocker arm l9 and an outer end portion of the arm of theyoke l 5, said strut element beingin theform of a tube-engaged over thescrew 23 and thespringjz wherebyit .is held in place by theformer andserves as a protective shield for the latter.

WhiIethe yoke l5 may be of any su1table-construction, it preferably isformed from a single length of stock material bent to provide the armsl8 and 2t each comprised by opposite side pormay be of any suitableconstruction. Preferably,

however, said rocker arm is formed from suitable sheet material bentinto U-shapecross sectionally whereby it is both light and strong,,therebeing preferably a tongue Z Estruck outwardly from its bottom wall toenter the inner end of the spring 22 and to serve as a centering andholding means for the said inner end of said spring.

Under some conditions of installation of, the operating meansv it may bedesirable to provide means to lock the rack baragainst separation fromthe pinion when the movable element is in some predetermined position,thus to lock the movable element in its predetermined position. Forexample, when the movable element isin the form of a window orventilator it may be desirable to provide means to lock the same in aclosed position. A simple means forthis purpose,automatically operableupon operation of the operating means to move the movable element to apredetermined position, may element 26 to be mounted on therack bar IIto engage the roller 2| to lift the rocker arm l9 to its limit ofoutward swinging movement, as determined by the strut element 24, whenthe movable element has reached its predetermined position. Obviously,when the cam element 26 is in a position holding the rocker arm 19 at ornear its limit of outward swinging movement it is not possible, bylongitudinal movement of the rack.

bar, to effect disengagement of the rack bar from the pinion i2.Accordingly, the movable element is locked against movement insofar asconcerns any force acting directly upon the movable element or the rackbar. Therefore, the movable element can be moved only by rotation of thepinion 12.

As illustrated in the present instance the cam element 26 mayappropriately comprise a bladelike portion to rest against bar I lremote from the pinion i2 and having an inclined end to cause the roller2| to ride upon the top thereof when the rack bar reaches apredetermined position relative to the pinion; while to facilitatefastening of said cam element to the rack bar said element may beprovided with arms 21 to straddle the rack bar and to have passedthrough any of a plurality of pairs of holes 28 therein a bolt 29 to liein the space between a selected pair of teeth of the rack bar, therebyto hold said element in assembly with the rack bar and againstlongitudinal movement relative thereto.

Manifestly, one of the present operating means may be employed foroperating only a single movable element, or a plurality of saidoperating means, to which a shaft I3 is common, may be employed foroperating a plurality of movable elements. In either case, the shaft l3may be manually rotatable by any suitable means, such as a crank, or itmay be motor driven.

comprise a cam the edge of the rack Inany case where a pluralityoftheoperating means are employed in association with a single, shaft l3for the operation of a plurality of: movable elements, the teeth of therack barsmaybe so terminated as to cause all of the movable elements toassume desired similar positionsupon actuation of the shaft l4 andpinions i2. For

example, the last tooth a. may have a plain por f tionywadjacent theretowhich permits the actuating mechanism to urge all of the closurestotheir open position for picking up the teeth which are closing.

, Without further description it is thought that" the features andadvantages of the invention will out of line and aligning the completeseries "for be readily apparent to those skilled in the art,

and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form,proportion and minor details of construction may be resortedto, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and scope .of the appendedclaims. l

I claim? i 1. In a window operator, a rack bar, a pinion, a shaftcarrying said pinion, a yoke supported by said shaft and having a pairof arms extending across said rack bar at points spaced longitudinallytherealong, a roller'carried by one of-said arms and engaging the edgeof the rack bar remote from the pinion, a rocker arm pivotally,

connected at one end to; said yoke arm, and extending at its other endtoward the other 'yokej arm, a roller on said rocker arm spaced fromsaidfirst mentioned roller and engaging the edge of the rack bar remote fromthe pinion, and a spring reacting from the second mentioned arm of theyoke upon said rocker arm to urge the latter toward the rack bar.

2. In a window operator, a rack bar, a pinion, a shaft carrying saidpinion, a yoke supported by said shaft and having a pair of armsextending across said rack bar at points spaced longitudinallytherealong, means carried by one of said arms engaging the edge of therack bar remote from the pinion, a rocker arm pivotally connected at oneend-to said yoke arm and extending toward the other yoke arm,.;means onsaid rocker arm spaced from said first mentioned yoke arm and engagingthe edge of. the rack bar remote .from the pinion, and spring meansreacting from the second mentioned yoke arm upon said rocker arm to urgethe latter toward the rack bar.

iii

3. In a window operator, a rack bar, a pinion,

a shaft carrying said pinion, a yoke supported by said shaft and havinga pair of arms extending across sair rack bar at points spacedlongitudinally therealong, means carried by one of said arms engagingthe edge of the rack bar remote from the pinion, a rocker arm pivotallyconnected at one end to said yoke arm and extending toward theother yokearm, means on said rocker arm spaced from said first mentioned yoke armand engagingthe edge of the rack bar remote from the pinion, an elementmounted in the second mentioned arm of said yoke for inward and outwardadjustment relative thereto, and spring means reacting from said elementupon said rocker arm to urge the latter toward the rack bar.

4. In a window operator, a rack'bar, a pinion, a shaft carrying saidpinion, a yoke supported by said shaft and having a pair of armsextending across said rack bar at points spaced longitudinallytherealong, means carried by one of said arms engaging the edge of therack bar remote from the'pinion, a rocker arm pivotally conrocker armspaced from said first mentioned yoke arm and engaging the edge oftherack bar remote from the pinion, spring means reacting from'thesecond mentioned yoke arm upon said rocker arm to urge the latter towardthe rack bar, and means interposed between said rocker arm and thesecond mentioned yoke arm to positively limit movement of. the rackbaraway from the pinion.

5. In a window operator, a rack bar, a pinion,

I a shaft carrying said pinion, a yoke supported by said shaft andhaving a pair of arms extend- .ing across said rack bar at points spacedlongitudinally therealong, a roller carried by one of said armsandengaging the edge of the rack bar remote from the pinion, a rockerarm pivotally connected atone end to said yoke arm, and extending at itsother end beyond the other yoke arm, a roller on the last mentioned endof said. rocker arm engaging the edge of the rack bar remote from thepinion, a screw threaded in the second mentioned yoke arm for inward andoutward adjustment relative thereto, and a spring reacting from saidscrew upon said rocker arm to urge the latter toward the rack bar.

6. In a window operator, a rack bar, a pinion, a shaft carrying saidpinion, a yoke supported by said shaft and having a pair of armsextendnected at one end to said yoke arm and extend- .ing toward theother yokearm, means on said ing across said rack bar at points spacedlongitudinallytherealong, a roller carried by one of said arms'andengaging the edge of the rack bar remote from thepinion, a rocker armpivotaily 'connectedat one end to said yoke arm, and extending at itsother end beyond the other yoke arm, a roller on the last'mentioned endof said rocker arm engaging the edge of the rack bar remote from thepinion, a screw threaded in the second mentioned yoke arm for inward andoutward adjustment relative thereto, a spring reacting from said screwupon said rocker army to urge the latter toward the rack bar, and atubular strut element between the rocker arm and an outer end" portionof the second mentioned yoke arm for limiting outward movement of therack bar relative to the pinion, said strut element being disposedinprotective surrounding relationship to said spring and being engagedover said screw whereby it is retained in operative assembly with theyoke and the rocker arm.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 including means on the rackbar for engagement with the roller on the rocker arm to move said rockerarm to a position locking the rack bar against movement away from thepinion when the rack bar reaches a predetermined position relative tothe pinion.

ELMON A. SCHOTTEN'BERG.

